Main menu

Post navigation

The 8th Hack3rCon and 3rd SecureWV cyber security conference is this Friday November 17th through Sunday November 19th at the Holiday Inn Hotel & Suites in South Charleston. The event is run by 304 Geek.

The event will have three rooms of speakers and classes: Speakers track for “normal” talks and presentations, Teachers track for those new to InfoSec, Forensics track partnering with Marshall University Digital Forensics department. Plus a room of Villages this year: Hardware Hacking Village sponsored by SME Inc., Voting Machine Hacking Village, Lockpick Village. There will also be a Capture The Flag area and Amateur Radio Technician Test given on Sunday. Panels include such topics as ransomware, Python scripting, WireShark, BASH scripting, network forensics, and more general IT and technical discussions. During the evening they will have a PGP Key Signing Party and karaoke to take part in.

This year’s Keynote Speaker is Information Systems Security Association Hall of Fame award winner Ira Winkler. Ira is the President of Secure Mentem, author of Advanced Persistent Security, and co-host of The Irai Report. He is one of the world’s most influential security professionals and engages in espionage simulations for companies all over the world. He will give different talks on Friday and Saturday about fighting Advanced Persistent Threats and Learning From Failure.

There are also plans to stream Speakers talks on the Internet via IronGeek.

Registration to attend is $50 or $35 for students with valid IDs, both high school and college level attendees. You can also pre-order t-shirts.

If you have an interest or job in computers, hacking, and security; this is something you should try to make it too. A much more formal event than what I usually post about, but a great chance to learn and connect with others.

This Saturday November 4th two different cons will both be running in Charleston to raise money for charity.

At the Capital City Lodge of the Fraternal Order of Police in Charleston will hold this year’s Extra Life Con, a board game convention to raise money for WVU Children Hospital. The event goes from 11am to 11pm and is part of the Extra Life charity Game Day.

From 2pm to 8pm there will be raffles for over a dozen donated prizes; such as board games and two passes to the Lock & Coded Escape Rooms. Entry to the event comes with five free tickets and you can buy more for $1 each.

There will be pods of Magic Commander, with free booster packs given out, through out the day as they get enough people. No extra fee to play. A tournament table will be set up with different games you can join for $2. Winners will receive an extra ten raffle tickets. Games will be played as they fill up.

The board game library from CharCon will have around fifty games for anyone to try and play. Donate old games and buy news ones, with the money going to the WVU Children’s Hospital.

Entry to the event is $25.

Mountain State Pop Expo will be at the South Charleston Holiday Inn and Suites both Saturday and Sunday. It is a celebration of fandom and a benefit for the Children’s Home Society of WV. The vendor room is open from 10am to 6pm with events in the panel rooms going even later.

Set up will be artists, writers, cosplayers, comic and toy dealers, the 501st, nerdy craft makers, video games, video production companies, Ghostbusters, table-top games, and more fun stuff to buy.

There will be a performance from Final Form Fusion belly-dancing, a cosplay contest, raffle prizes, and panels (including one on Nerd Music from myself).

Tickets are $10 for one day or $15 for both.

Either event looks like fun and helps out a good cause. In fact you could do both if you really wanted.

The event brings companies, speakers, programmers, artists, players together from around West Virginia and surrounding states to learn about the filed of video gaming development in professional and passionate environment.

The West Virginia Book Festival returns this Friday October 27th and Saturday 28th at the Charleston Civic Center in Charleston. There are a few authors and features fans of the blog might find interesting.

Featured authors for this year include R.L. Stine writer of the Goosebumps series and other children horror books, Joe Hill writer of the comic series Locke & Key and various horror books, Henry Winkler writer of a series of children’s novels and collection of anecdotes and observations. Winkler was also in some TV show or two. Several WV authors of more mainstream writings will be there as well.

They will each be giving a presentation followed by a book signing. Stine on Friday, Hill and Winkler on Saturday.

There is a Festival Marketplace of book sellers, publishers, individual authors, and other literary vendors on Friday and Saturday. A Word Play area for kids will be open on both days. There will be craft tables, a Storybook Costume Parade on Saturday, Turtle Lady Nancy Lockard, story readings, and more for the kids to learn and play with.

The big library used book sale will go on Saturday. There will be thousands of books, movies, CDs, and other items will be on sale including some rare and old selections. Regular prices for books will be from 8am to 3pm, they close down then for half an hour, and then open at 3:30pm for the reduced price sale.

Other guests are cosplay band Eien Strife, professional panelists Vitamin H Productions, The Carolina Manga Library, Japanese arcade machines from Tokyo Attack, foam weapon combat group Sleeping Samurai, game show host Greg Wicker, and pachinko machines from Pachinko Fever.

They will have all the standard anime con events: panels for learn and/or fun, cosplay contests, rave, artist alley, vendor room with a kinds of goods, cosplayers, autographs, game shows, masquerade ball, concerts, viewing rooms, guests Q&A, AMV League, maid café, and plenty of chances to meet fellow fans. There will also be areas, tournaments, meet-ups, and more for video gaming, pachinko machines, mobile video and phone gaming, collectible card gaming, Dungeons & Dragons, Pathfinder, Warhammer and other war miniature games, and a board game library from the Huntington Unplugged Gaming Society.

Convention Registration is $45 for a weekend badge, $30 for Friday only, $40 Saturday only, and $20 for Sunday only. Children between 8-12 badges are $20 for the weekend. Children under seven get in free. They also have a gaming wristband that only that only allows you into the gaming area of the con for $35 for the weekend. Single day gaming wristbands available too.

The con is great for fans of anime, cosplay, table-top and video gaming, and a bit of general nerdery. It is I think the most varied and diverse cons in the state. Though sometime loud, crowded, and full of young people having fun. I am not a big fan of “fun.”

Another list of events around the state to enjoy the Halloween season.

Miller’s Nightmare Haunted Farm: Lewisburg, a strange group of circus performers host this event, attractions are The Night Wagon, The Infected Crop, and The Demented Forest.

Lake Shawnee’s Dark Carnival: Rock, Friday and Saturdays, stroll around the lake and abandoned park, walk the Indian Burial Ground, go across the lake, hear stories around the campfire, see the Lake Nightmare: Hostel haunted attraction, ask about overnight stays.

Haunted School of Terror: Weirton, Barn attraction, Meet the Boogeyman, Hallowed Jack, and their friends. Open Friday and Saturday nights in October. Tickets are $15.

Zombie Run: Minden, ACE Adventure Resort, be a runner or zombie, October 28th.

The Haunted Coal Mine: Beckley, a fundraiser event for Theatre West Virginia. Fridays and Saturdays from 6pm to 10pm on a train.

Spooktacular! Festival: Tamarack, Beckley, they are selling locally grown pumpkins and holding a painted pumpkin contest for adults and children. Halloween movies in Theater October 22-28, Pumpkin Party on October 21st and October 28th, Strolling musician and spooky storytelling on October 22nd and October 29th, and Pumpkin Awards Scaremony on October 29th.

Halloween ComicFest: statewide, horror and Halloween themed free comics on October 25th. Check your local comic shop to see if they are participating and what they are doing. Also online Costume Contest on the site.

Fear on the Farm: Winfield, an extreme haunted experience, open Friday and Saturdays.

Plenty of haunted houses and attractions, zombie events, ghost tours, and more around the state to enjoy this Halloween season. Instead of doing a post for each one here is a few words about a few different ones to check out.

Scareview Ghoul School: Saint Albans, based out of the old Fairview Grade School, is a fund-raiser for local volunteer fire department. Open mid September through the end of October.

Dead Zone Haunted House: Charleston, successor to the Haunted Barn. Attratcion with physical interaction. Every Friday and Saturdays will have The Haunted Barn, The Asylum, and Sinister Sideshow, every Thursday night they will have The Darkness, live music, pro wrestling, and vendors.

Festival of Fright: Nitro, one night event on Saturday October 14th at Ridenour Lake from 4pm to midnight. Will have an outdoor showing of Danny Boyd’s Chillers and Invasion of the Space Preachers. Pumpkin carving, local artists, vendors, paranormal investigators, psychics, pumpkin races, haunted trail, zombie shoot, coffin ride, inflatables, and food.

Morgantown Zombie Walk: Morgantown, put on the by The Illusive Skull. On Saturday October 21st, zombies gather at 7pm, walk starts at 8pm. Will start at the Morgantown Farmers Market pavilion and go to the Morgantown Public Library. After-walk part after that. Raises money for charity.

Pecks Mill Haunted Trail: Chapmanville, four attractions for one price, Haunted Ride, Haunted Trail, Haunted Barn, and Haunted House and Basement. Every Friday and Saturday night from 8pm to midnight. Has clowns.